Solo Disappearance - Now RECOVERED

[Ian [P13]]

As others have said the logs will record the GPS of the last position, people have recovered their Solos in under an hour just by using the logs to see the last position, so it's always worth using the logs immediately.

 

[Ian [P13]]

In fly manual, with loss of radio the Solo would land, so it will be more or less exactly at the last position in the logs.

 

[Dirby]

Here is a photo I took right after the incident. Arrow points to where the Solo was last seen.

View attachment 529

maby it went down in the field behind the trees.
i would look around that area real good.

 

[rrmccabe]

In fly manual, with loss of radio the Solo would land, so it will be more or less exactly at the last position in the logs.

Huh. are you saying if you are in "manual mode" and lose connectivity it automatically lands? That cant be right.

 

[Ian [P13]]

Yes if there is no GPS signal, if you manually switch to fly:manual and GPS is still present it'll return to home, BUT if you're in manual due to loss of GPS then it will land.

 

[Jubalr]

Yes if there is no GPS signal, if you manually switch to fly:manual and GPS is still present it'll return to home, BUT if you're in manual due to loss of GPS then it will land.

Good info Ian! I hadn't realized they had set that as the default, but makes sense. You wouldn't want it wandering around aimlessly.

 

[rrmccabe]

Yes if there is no GPS signal, if you manually switch to fly:manual and GPS is still present it'll return to home, BUT if you're in manual due to loss of GPS then it will land.

I sure hope there is a delay or something. I can think of many instances where this would be fatal.

 

[Ian [P13]]

With no radio signal it would drift with the wind which is even less preferable. Landing in the scenario we're talking about is the lesser of evils.

 

[Jubalr]

I sure hope there is a delay or something. I can think of many instances where this would be fatal.

Yeah, I'm sure anytime a quad is descending on it's own it could be bad. Luckily it descends pretty slow and (as you have pointed out) pretty loud. And drifting for anytime before landing could be the wrong spot too. Tough choice, but glad to know it will land rather than drift until the battery dies or it hits something. Should be easier to find this way and I hope he does.

 

[rrmccabe]

With no radio signal it would drift with the wind which is even less preferable. Landing in the scenario we're talking about is the lesser of evils.

Not with my type of flying. I would rather have it drift for 20 seconds. Do you know if it regains GPS will it stop the auto-land?

 

[Jason C]

Will post logs when I get back to my PC.

If it lands in fly:manual that would put it in the river.

 

[Ian [P13]]

Chances of GPS coming back going lower to the ground if you've already lost GPS are very very slim indeed.

You imagine once in land mode the landing will be completed.

Probably easier to read the logic here: https://github.com/3drobotics/ardupilot-solo/blob/master/ArduCopter/events.pde

// used for AltHold, Guided, Loiter, RTL, Circle, Drift, Sport, Flip, Autotune, PosHold // if landed disarm if (ap.land_complete) { init_disarm_motors();
// if failsafe_throttle is FS_THR_ENABLED_ALWAYS_LAND then land immediately } else if(g.failsafe_throttle == FS_THR_ENABLED_ALWAYS_LAND) { set_mode_land_with_pause();
// if far from home then RTL }else if(home_distance > wp_nav.get_wp_radius()) { // switch to RTL or if that fails, LAND set_mode_RTL_or_land_with_pause(); }else{ // We have no GPS or are very close to home so we will land set_mode_land_with_pause(); } break;

 

[Ian [P13]]

If it lands in fly:manual that would put it in the river.

That's why flying over water is always a risk when something goes wrong.

 

[rrmccabe]

I would also assume that if you regained connectivity "Fly" should override and take over again.

I can see your point Ian.

 

[Jason C]

I'm still surprised it lost GPS. Treetop level with a handful of trees surrounded by fields doesn't scream dense signal loss.

 

[Ian [P13]]

If you regained radio control, then you'd be fine. You could change modes if need be too.

 

[ChrisM101]

Come on people, look at this area, flat farm land with trees that might be 35 foot tall.
There is no reason he should have lost GPS. None.
Also there is not that much in the way of trees to block control signal, and im betting very little wifi.

 

[rrmccabe]

Come on people, look at this area, flat farm land with trees that might be 35 foot tall.
There is no reason he should have lost GPS. None.
Also there is not that much in the way of trees to block control signal, and im betting very little wifi.

Yea I dont think anyone is arguing that. He lives just south of me and its a lot of flatland.

We know that 3DR is working on GPS issues. No secret there. Just talking about what happens in the event of no GPS.

 

[Dunginhawk]

yeah. depending on what they say about the logs, i would fight this one to the end. KNown issues like this should never inhibit a customer getting a replacement, unless the logs show things were clearly your fault.

 

[ChrisM101]

So he had to lose GPS and lose Control at the same time...

Itd be nice to have GPS on a mast and decent range from the factory antennas.

i was just thinking of my issue the other day, were the app crashed and it went RTH while still having control signal all from Fly Manual.... from 30 feet away and 40 ft up.

It seems the worlds first smart drone is doing some dumb Sh!T